


Take All Your Problems, Leave Them Behind

by a-nastywoman (kosm)



Category: American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Apocalypse
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, F/F, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:08:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26690413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kosm/pseuds/a-nastywoman
Summary: It was the worst day you had experienced in a long time and unfortunately for Wilhemina, it had made you act out, resulting in some unintended consequences.
Relationships: Wilhemina Venable/You
Comments: 3
Kudos: 58





	Take All Your Problems, Leave Them Behind

It had been a horrible day. Period. 

The worst day that you had experienced in a long time, it was a series of unfortunate events that had all led up to the point of near explosion. 

You were angry, frustrated, sad, and most of all depressed. 

There was something particularly humiliating about your job and the things that you had to experience. 

It made you wonder how Wilhemina ever put up with the dolts at her company, you knew of course that the power she had outweighed their idiocy but you couldn’t say the same for yourself. 

The day had started badly, to begin with. 

The first strike was that Wilhemina hadn’t been there when you had woken up. 

She had been called in early to handle an emergency and had left without warning. 

That threw a wrench in your morning routine. Normally she would wake you up early, force you out of bed with her no-nonsense tone, and then you would shower with her before the two of you got ready for work. 

There was something about the simple domesticity of it all that soothed your mind before the day had even begun. 

That soothing didn’t happen today and it had set your hair on end the moment you had woken up without a soft hand brushing over your cheek to wake you.

The second strike had been when your bus to work had been early, extremely so, and you had missed it. 

So you had been almost an hour behind schedule when it didn’t show. 

Your routine was thrown even further off and anxiety had settled in your chest at the thought of what your terrible boss would say. 

He would hardly be pleased. 

The third strike had been when you had arrived to work, apparently missing a last minute morning meeting to the disapproval of the whole office. 

Your boss had pulled you aside, he had given you a huge lecture full of misogyny, condescension and rudeness. 

Back at your desk, you had almost slammed your office door shut, anger simmering at the treatment you had to handle from your superior. 

The fourth strike had been even worse. 

A co-worker who just couldn’t take no for an answer. 

He had been constantly pestering you for a weekend date for months and today it had almost felt like the last straw. 

You had snapped at him, raising your voice and telling him exactly what he could do with his date. 

That had earned you another lecture, your boss of course siding with his male counterpart and not your story of multiple months of near harassment.

The fifth and final strike had been at the end of the workday. 

You had gotten on the wrong bus, in a fit of tiredness, and had a nearly two-hour commute back home with the change in line. 

To put it simply, you were exhausted and most of all, simmering with frustration and anger. 

So when you did get home, feet stomping up the steps to your shared space with Wilhemina, you ripped the door open and slammed it shut behind you. 

You heard a cup clatter to the ground from the kitchen and your teeth snicked together at the grating noise. 

The world felt too loud, too much, and most of all too overwhelming. 

You ignored the kitchen completely, knowing that Wilhemina was there preparing dinner and that you had probably upset her by causing such a fuss. 

So you went upstairs to the bedroom, rushing around the corner and up the steps as you heard your partner’s cane clinking on the floor, turning the corner to check on you. 

The bedroom door smacked closed behind you and you practically ripped off your work clothes, throwing them on the floor and flopping face first down on the bed. 

You resisted the urge to scream into the well-laid sheets and tried your hardest to not throw a tantrum. 

It was almost ridiculous reacting like this but you felt as if a string had snapped somewhere in your mind and you couldn’t quite tie it back together. 

That snap had let a whole host of negative feelings out and you weren’t quite sure how to stop them. 

And as the bedroom door opened you weren’t sure what you were going to see, much less do in such a terrible mood. 

In truth, you were the complete opposite of Wilhemina on most days. 

The woman was cold, sure, but there were days where she ran on an absolutely short fuse. 

You had always counted yourself lucky to have her trust and her love, not being on the receiving end of her anger usually. 

She had her days just like anyone else. 

Days where her back pain was so bad she would snap like a wounded animal, days where her work had frustrated her to the point of fury, and days where she couldn’t stand the sight of a single person. 

You accepted it, of course, worked to understand, and most importantly, loved her all the more for it. 

They were just parts of who she was, tiny shifts in mood that showed her true self when all the negative feelings eventually left. 

Wilhemina had often said that she was drawn to your kindness, not that she ever had been with anyone before. Always assuming that people who were kind were often using it as an ulterior motive. 

But overall you were a quiet person, trying your best to be good to those around you and to care and love for the people in your life. 

So it wasn’t often that you were in a truly bad mood, and honestly, this may be the first time she had ever encountered it in the time that you had been together. 

When she fully stepped into the room you were still face down on the bed, braced for whatever was coming next. 

Already expecting the worst.

“And what do you think you are doing?” 

Wilhemina’s voice was smooth, silky, and as she came into the room she settled behind you. Her form practically towering over your lowered one. 

You didn’t respond, just shrugging your shoulders and burrowing your face deeper into the sheets. 

Wilhemina’s face contorted slightly, brows furrowing and lips drawing down as she witnessed your poor behavior. 

“You come in, slam the door, startle me, don’t even say hello and now you’re in here doing what exactly?” 

Her tone was harsh, demanding, and it was obvious that she was not pleased with you. 

If there was one thing that Wilhemina could not stand, it was rudeness and bad behavior. 

“Laying down, isn’t it obvious?” 

At this point, you knew that you were poking at her and picking a fight. But you couldn’t help it, needing some outlet for the negativity inside of you. 

“Don’t take that tone with me Y/N.” 

Wilhemina tried her hardest to remain calm, not wanting to lash out at you when you were frustrated and going through something. 

Her words had the opposite effect of what she most likely wanted. 

They threw you back to a month ago when you had been acting particularly bratty in bed. 

She had said much the same thing to you then but had quickly and sufficiently punished you afterward. 

Your mind had gone blank, thoughts disappearing, and tension leaving your body as she did so. 

And it was like a lightbulb had flicked in your mind at the memory. 

Maybe that was what you needed, a good punishment to take your mind off of things. 

Your head popped up at the thought and you flipped over on the mattress. 

Wilhemina came into view and your breath froze in your chest, she was beautiful, always had been and always would be. 

Her hair had been brought up into a high ponytail, her work blazer taken off for the night and her sleeves rolled up, glasses perched on her nose, and painted lips pursed. 

You watched as she folded her arms, her fingers drumming against her bicep quickly, a sure sign of her displeasure. 

Smirking over at her, you leaned back onto the bed. Reminded again that you were nearly naked after angrily stripping your clothes off. 

So you took advantage of that, arms propping up behind you as you parted your legs just the slightest bit.

The only piece of fabric left on you was your panties. 

And you watched in amusement as Wilhemina’s eyes darkened at the sight of your exposed breasts and thighs. 

“I had a bad day.” 

You met her eyes as you spoke, lips forming a pout as you watched her brow tighten further. 

It was clear she was unused to you acting in such a way. 

“So you think you can just act like a brat? I don’t think so.” 

Her words were harsh, voice ice-cold as she spoke, and you watched her hand clench on the head of her cane as she took a step closer to you. 

“What are you going to do about it, Mina?” 

Your eyes lit up as you saw the fury on her face, Wilhemina didn’t often have the patience to work with your more bratty moods. 

She liked you obedient and quick to please. 

Unfortunately, she wouldn’t be getting that today. 

“If you continue to act like this we will have a confrontation, one that I will win. So choose your next words very carefully.” 

Wilhemina was in your space now, standing between your legs and leaning on her cane. 

Her hand had gripped her cane to the point that her fingers twitched at the pressure and you knew you had done it now. 

“Make me.” 

Her hand whipped down quick, so fast you could barely see it, and before you knew it her palm was on your throat. 

Pushing you back into the bed and tightening. 

A wheezing breath escaped you and you squirmed angrily, not trying to remove her hand since that would defeat the whole point of all of this. 

Wilhemina’s usually warm brown eyes were ice-cold, her pupils were blown, and her teeth gritted together in a snarl. 

It was safe to say that you had succeeded in working her up. 

“Turn over, now.” 

The redhead’s eyes bore into you as she squeezed just a little harder before letting up, stepping back and giving you room to shift until you were resting on your stomach. 

But you weren’t going to make it easy for her. 

“Hmm, no.” 

You smirked up at her as you spoke, voice defiant and eyes teasing as you pushed just a little further. 

That last push was all it took. 

Wilhemina was done with your attitude, and truthfully it was a miracle that she had maintained her patience for so long.

She leaned her cane to the side for just a moment, rolling her sleeves up further on her arms, tightening her ponytail, and taking her glasses off. 

Once she was done, the proverbial gloves had been taken off. 

Her hands reached out and latched onto your hips, nails digging into the skin as she roughly flipped you onto your stomach. 

Hand pressing into your spine to still you as you squirmed around in protest at her actions. 

The squirming was all for show, of course, you were more than happy with her actions.

That hand stayed in place for a few moments as you heard her rustling around in the drawer of your bedside table. 

Your breath froze in your chest and your heart skipped a beat as you realized she was reaching for a toy, that was where they were stored, easy access and all. 

To your absolute dismay, you noted that it was not a toy after all as you felt smooth silken rope wrapping around your ankles. 

“Are you okay with this darling?” 

Even though Wilhemina was frustrated, she still made sure to check that you were okay to continue. 

It had always been important to her to keep all boundaries clear. 

Your head nodded vigorously as you made your body limp and pliable for Wilhemina to maneuver exactly how she wanted. 

And it didn’t take long. 

She had tied your legs together, rope wrapping around your ankles and up your thighs, looping up until it made a neat knot over your chest, pulling your arms back and tied just above your hips. 

You were completely immobile. 

Your hips bucked and squirmed, testing your bonds and seeing if you could break out of them. 

A simmering burst of frustration built in your chest when you realized that you couldn’t, it only mounted on the negative feelings that were still swirling inside of you. 

“I am going to cane you for as long as it takes you to apologize for your behavior. Do you understand brat?” 

A muttered response dropped from your lips as you burrowed your head into the sheets, teeth grinding and chest throbbing with an unidentified swirl of emotions. 

Wilhemina’s hand landed on your head, drawing her fingers through your hair lightly. 

The soothing motion made a slight sheen of wetness build in your eyes. 

But that wasn’t what you wanted right now. 

So you flicked your head to the side, knocking her hand off and messing up your hair. 

The redhead stared down at you with narrowed eyes, wondering why you had rebuffed her affection. 

During a scene, she didn’t offer it often but when she did you normally ate it up with open arms. 

A tinge of worry entered her mind but she quickly pushed it aside as your hips bucked back and a whine left your lips. 

Her hand tightened on her cane, hesitating for just a moment as she watched your tense body squirm on the bed. 

But that hesitation didn’t last long when your head turned and eyes glared back at her in frustration, you were still giving her attitude, even now. 

So with one final look at you, she shifted her grip on the cane and brought it down on your exposed ass. 

The sound of wood cracking on skin filled the room at the same time that you gasped out loud. 

The pain radiated through you, shifting in waves and flowing through your whole body as your hairs stood on end and your teeth clenched. 

It was no surprise to you, the first hit was always the worse, and then you warmed up more as it continued. 

So you settled into the bed and waited, cane cracking down again on your ass and then your thighs. 

Skin burning red as little welts rose up and dimpled sections of unmarked flesh. 

A moan ripped from your lips as the cane landed across two welts, crisscrossing and nearly doubling the pain. 

Your eyes furrowed shut as you took a moment to absorb the feeling, trying your hardest to process it and settle into the burn as you usually did. 

Wilhemina had timed things perfectly as she took a moment as well, her hand dropping down to your red flesh and rubbing soothingly. 

She hesitated to continue, noting that your hips were still and your chest was heaving. 

Normally by now, during any other caning session, your hips would have been grinding into the sheets, breath steady but broken as whimpers slipped out. 

They were subtle signs but ones that sparked a hint of worry in her mind. 

She had never wanted to go too far, too out of line, there was always a very clear difference in her mind of pushing a limit and breaking it. 

And she never wanted to put you in a position where a limit had been broken. 

“Where are you darling?” 

So she asked, checking in to make sure that you were still safely in a green zone. Her eyes tracing over your form as you laid tied up in bed. 

“Green, Ms. Venable,” 

You were quiet, words whispered out and muffled from the sheets that your face was pressed into. 

It wasn’t easy to speak, the words felt trapped deep in your chest but you managed to summon them because you knew that she would stop if you didn’t. 

You didn’t want her to stop, you just wanted her to cane you until you stopped thinking. 

But the swarm in your head wasn’t ending and the pressure of too many feelings in your chest only grew. 

You hoped that if you continued, sticking it out, that eventually the dam would break and everything would be calmed into non-existence. 

Unfortunately, that wasn’t how it went. 

Wilhemina was soothed slightly by your words, the confirmation that you were still in a safe zone reassuring her that it was okay to continue.

She may have been a cold woman, harsh and difficult with most people, but when it came to you, somebody that she cared so much about, she was more cautious. 

More likely to hesitate when she usually didn’t stop to pause with anyone, anywhere else. 

So she continued to watch you closely as she caned you, making sure to observe and catalog every little reaction that you had to ensure that you were safe. 

That hardly processed for you though, so focused on trying to lose yourself in the consistent smack of her cane on your ass and thighs. 

You hadn’t even been counting each hit, knowing that you were supposed to apologize for her to stop. 

But you couldn’t bring yourself to do it, the frustration lingering in your chest making you more stubborn. 

So you hunkered down for a long punishment. Loosening your limbs and trying to not tense all of the muscles in your body. 

Wilhemina’s cane came down in three quick hits, each inching closer and closer to your lower back, spacing the cane in even increments across your skin. 

When one landed on the high point of your ass, so close to the base of your spine, you froze at the pain as it rippled through you. 

The redhead hadn’t even hit that hard, knowing that it was a sensitive area for how little fat it had there. 

But it felt like every sensation in the room had heightened, the lights burning your eyes, and the smacking sounds echoing in your head as the stinging pain continued. 

Wilhemina stopped and drew back as she saw your body tense up, her eyes raking over your form as you seemed to hunker down into yourself as much as you could in your bindings. 

She felt like something was wrong and she couldn’t ignore it anymore. 

So Wilhemina put her cane to the side and sat down on the bed beside you, her hands resting on your bruised skin and smoothing over it. 

Truthfully, it wasn’t even nearly as harsh of a punishment as others you had received before.

Wilhemina knew that you had a high pain tolerance and she had spent months on months exploring your limits with you. 

So she knew when something was wrong, and this felt wrong. 

She took a moment to breathe in, pushing the frustration she had felt with you earlier to the side.

It wasn’t the time for it and truthfully she had begun to realize that you had been goading her all along. 

Shame filled her chest at the thought, she shouldn’t have risen to it. 

“Do you need to use your safe word darling?” 

Her hand was rested on your lower back now, soft and smooth, not moving but just laying on the throbbing skin.

Wilhemina’s words brought tears to your eyes, the last straw needed to break through the funk that had fallen over you. 

You tried your hardest to maintain your composure though. 

“No,” 

It wasn’t convincing, not in the least. Not for you and certainly not for her. 

The redhead sighed, shaking her head and reaching out to untie the rope from your body. It only took a few minutes for you to be mobile again. 

“I was fine Ms. Venable,” 

Wilhemina turned and glared at you when you spoke, her eyes boring into you and raking over every little detail. 

“So I suppose the tears in your eyes are just decorative.” 

At her words you curled up in the bed, wrapping your arms around your legs as the tears began to fall in earnest. 

Wilhemina reached over, her hands sneaking under your shoulders as she pulled you over until your head rested in her lap. 

You sniffled and gulped on the waves of emotion overtaking you, everything from the day had finally built to a fine point and exploded. 

As the redhead began to run her fingers through your hair, that simple casual act of intimacy caused you to start sobbing. 

You turned and burrowed your face into her lap, tears dripping fast from your face and chest heaving as you could barely breathe. 

“I’m sorry Mina.” 

The words were stuttered out, stalled, and interrupted by your nose sniffing and throat hiccuping. 

“What happened darling?” 

Wilhemina continued to run her fingers through your hair, sometimes stopping and massaging the tense muscles in your neck. 

The simple contact soothed you somewhat, you were still occasionally surprised to this day when the redhead so casually offered physical affection. 

But you had come to learn that she was better at doing things than saying them, when she couldn’t bring herself to say that she loved you she would do something for you instead. 

It was easily understood and you appreciated those moments of contact and care. 

“My day was horrible, I just wanted all of it to stop for a little while.” 

She hummed at your words, leaning her head down to drop a kiss on your forehead. 

The motion brought tears to your eyes again, simple affection feeling like something you didn’t deserve after the day that you had.

“Can you tell me next time Y/N? I almost pushed you too far today because I didn’t know.” 

A surge of guilt flooded through you, guilt at not knowing that your actions weren’t exactly the healthiest and guilt at putting Wilhemina in that position. 

Your head turned in her lap and you leaned over to kiss her hand, pecking your lips against each knuckle and fingertip as a way to apologize again. 

“It isn’t safe to do these things when you don’t have a clear head darling.” 

Wilhemina pushed you gently, gripping onto your shoulders and sitting you up beside her so that she could meet your eyes. 

Your head spun at the movement, nose stuffy, and eyes swollen from all of the crying that you had done in the past ten minutes alone. 

“I’m sorry Mina, I wasn’t thinking.” 

The redhead stood from the bed when you finished speaking, moving so that she was standing directly in front of you. 

She reached forward and grasped your hand in hers, rubbing her thumb over your knuckles and pulling you to stand. 

“Where are we going?” 

Wilhemina didn’t respond to your question, just pulling you behind her as she slowly made her way into the bathroom. 

Her cane clattered against the tiled floor and light spilled into the room as she flipped on the switch. 

You hissed out at the overwhelming brightness, eyes shutting and pain splitting through your sensitive head. 

“Come here darling,” 

Wilhemina sat you on the lip of the tub as she spoke, leaning over to slide your panties down your legs and she watched as they dropped softly to the floor. 

She leaned over and started the bath, her wrist resting under the water until it was just hot enough to soothe. 

You followed her cues and sat in the tub, bringing your knees to your chest and hugging them, a simple action to calm the ache in your chest. 

Wilhemina left the room, quickly rummaging around in the bedroom only to come back with a stool, candles, and bath oils. 

She laid the candles around the room, lighting the wicks and turning the overhead light off so that a soft golden glow was all that filled the room. 

A sigh of relief dropped from your lips at the change in lighting and you leaned back in the tub as it continued to fill. 

The redhead set the stool down beside you, resting gingerly on it as she dropped some lavender oils into the tub. 

You knew that the stool must have been hurting her back and you twisted your head to speak up when she glared over at you, shaking her head at what she already knew was going to come out of your mouth. 

The tub eventually filled, warm water surrounding you and soothing the aching welts across your thighs and ass. 

It also calmed the swell in your chest, the temperature bringing you back down to earth. 

Wilhemina’s hands only helped with that as she lathered up a cloth and began to wash you, her eyes focused on the task at hand. 

Silence filled the room, only small splashes from the tub interrupting it, and you couldn’t bring yourself to mind. 

You felt comfortable in the quiet, Mina didn’t speak often, not a woman to say anything but what was needed and you appreciated that about her. 

She didn’t need to coo and mutter soothing words when she could act on it instead, you could feel every drop of love and affection that she had for you in the way that her hands trailed over your body. 

Eventually, as the soft touches continued you felt your mind begin to calm as your body started to de-stress. 

All the unpleasant emotions of the day were quite literally being washed away, you breathed out and settled further into the water. 

You couldn’t be any more grateful for Wilhemina than you were in that moment, warm bursts of affection filled your chest at the simple kindness. 

It wasn’t often that she found the need to take care of you like this, the bad days had become few and far between recently, but when she did it reminded you of exactly why you had fallen in love with her in the first place. 

At her core, she was a woman who had been hurt many times, and it was hard for her to trust, but when she did she cared fiercely and you counted yourself lucky to be that person for her. 

She continued to wash you, the cloth drifting over your arms, sliding down your collarbones, and eventually scrubbing lightly over your breasts. 

The friction alone drove a moan from your throat, your eyes popping open in embarrassment and meeting hers. 

A smirk flitted across her lips as she looked down at you, her tongue licking over her bottom lip as she watched your nipples tighten in the cold air. 

“Did you enjoy that baby?” 

Wilhemina dropped the cloth into the bathwater, her hand smoothly sliding over your wet skin until it rested on your perked nipple. 

Her thumb rubbed gently into the skin, softly flicking back and forth, she held eye contact with you as you nodded your head with parted lips. 

She watched in delight as your eyes clouded over, so obviously genuine this time as your head dropped back against the lip of the tub. 

All of the negative emotions from earlier had been soothed from you and what replaced it now was slow simmering arousal, her hands on your body working you up just right. 

“Let me take care of you darling.” 

Her hand shifted down, rubbing softly over your stomach, sliding and feeling the skin of your hips. Her fingers teased and wandered, building you up slowly. 

You watched on bated breath as her head leaned down, red hair skimming against your neck and causing you to whimper as soft lips closed over a nipple. 

Wilhemina’s tongue flicked out and circled the bud, teasing gently as her hand slid down to your thighs. 

Her fingers massaged into your skin, rubbing at the sore spots and tensed muscles. 

Your hips bucked as her hand smoothed up to the highest point of your inner thigh, she squeezed a handful of flesh in her palm and rubbed slowly. 

“May I?” 

Her hand was paused just near your entrance, unwilling to go any further without permission.

And as she asked she lifted her head to stare into your eyes, paying full attention to ensure that your response was genuine this time. 

“Please Mina.” 

Your words urged her on and the soft look in your eyes reassured her that you were okay, feeling much better now after she had taken such good care of you. 

Her hand cupped your center, palm pressing tenderly against where she knew that your clit was and grinding in. 

A moan slipped from you as your hips bucked, the bathwater sloshing just the slightest bit over the edge of the tub at your actions. 

Wilhemina smirked at your movements, pleased at the genuine pleasure on your face and the easy and quick response to her touch. 

Eventually, after rubbing her palm into your center for a little while, her hand withdrew and her fingers slipped down. 

Parting your folds and probing in gently. 

Slick met the long digits and she ran her fingers through it, the bathwater making the experience all the easier as she slid up to your clit. 

Her hand laid poised there for a moment as Wilhemina leaned over, her mouth meeting yours as she gently bit down on your lower lip. 

Your mouth opened in a moan and she took full advantage, licking her tongue in and brushing up against your own. 

Her mouth moved against yours as her fingers began to brush up against your clit, rubbing the tender bud between two fingers and devouring the moans that slipped from your lips. 

Your hands came up and began to tease your breasts, fingers running over your nipples and pulling softly while her hand continued to work between your legs. 

The combined pleasure quickly built a soft warm pressure in your belly, waves of heat washing over you as Wilhemina continued to work. 

Eventually, you were moaning so much that it was hard to continue the kiss, so instead Mina dropped her lips to your chest. Nudging your fingers aside and suckling on a nipple. 

Her fingers sped up, circling the bud and working as your hips bucked up at each movement. 

And she shifted, her fingers slipping down to your center instead as her thumb pressed down on your clit. 

At that first press, her fingers slid into you, two digits filling you easily. 

Wilhemina revelled in the feeling of wet heat around her, smirking against your nipple as she began to suck bruises into the skin of your chest. 

It was a tender moment but no less hot, even now she couldn’t resist marking you and placing the imprint of her lips into your skin. 

Her fingers curled as they pressed in, a steady insistent pressure that quickly built up the heat in your stomach. 

Your hips rolled and pressed against her hand, increasing the force with which she thrust into you. 

Meeting her eyes your center clenched, bearing down on the fingers as they hit a sensitive spot inside of you. 

Wilhemina didn’t stop though, her fingers pressing in insistently as her thumb circled your clit and sped up. 

That last bit of pressure was all it took for you to come, pleasure rushing over you as your center tightened and bore down on the digits inside of you. 

The redhead watched with dark eyes as your head dropped back, thighs shaking, and core tightening around her fingers. 

The feeling faded into soft waves of warmth as you popped your eyes open, meeting Wilhemina’s eyes and gazing at her softly. 

You reached down and pulled her hand out from between your thighs, bringing her palm up and dropping a kiss on it. 

“Thank you, Mina.” 

She didn’t respond to your thanks, merely rolled her eyes, and smiled over at you as she washed her hands in the water. 

Cleaning the digits of whatever slick had coated her fingers in the bathwater. 

Reaching for the washcloth again, her hand smoothed over your skin as she gave you one last rub down.

When she was done you pulled the plug, standing from the tub and waiting as she wrapped a towel around your shoulders. 

You stepped from the tub and quickly dried off, moving fast as your partner stood in the room. 

Taking her hair down and undressing for the day, her little nightly ritual. 

Once you were dry you walked up to the woman, leaning your forehead delicately against her curved back as you wrapped your arms around her waist. 

She stiffened momentarily, a reflexive habit borne from years of hiding herself from people. 

But you merely dropped a kiss on her neck, soothing your hands over her hips as you stepped back. 

You left the room and gave her a moment, not wanting her to feel too exposed after everything that had already happened this evening. 

So instead you pulled the bedsheets back, moving the candles into the bedroom to carry over the ambiance. 

You settled into your side of the bed, propping the book she had been reading this week up on her pillow and settling into the sheets. 

As you waited patiently your thoughts drifted to how you had felt earlier in the evening, the absolute frustration and tenseness that filled every moment. 

You felt some shame at how you had acted but you were incredibly grateful for Wilhemina, the woman had paid such close attention that she had pulled you out of a situation that could have turned unpleasant. 

It was hard to even imagine how you would have reacted if she hadn’t, the panic that had been steadily building in your chest likely would have burst and your response would have been much worse than a small crying session. 

Luckily the woman had always been observant and you were so thankful for that now. 

It was a blessing to feel so seen by her, to know that she knew you well enough to notice the small subtle differences and to be so loved that she would then take care of you after. 

Wilhemina didn’t say it often but she didn’t need to, nights like this were all the reassurance that you needed that she felt the same way for you. 

And as she walked back into the room, a light purple nightgown covering her body, her cane clicking on the floor, you couldn’t help the huge grin that crossed your features. 

The redhead watched you warily, her eyes narrowed at the cheerful grin on your face. 

Sometimes, despite your years together, she was still cautious of kindness or happiness.

She was so used to it being used for anything but care that she still hesitated some days.

But despite that she didn’t hesitate to crawl into bed with you, her cane leaning up against the nightstand. 

You rolled over onto your side and waited until she was comfortable for you to shift over and press your head into her lap. 

One hand reached down to rest on your head as her other hand picked her book up, splitting it open to the proper page as she began to read. 

The soothing turn of a page and warm hand resting on you lulled you into a half-sleep state, breath slipping out of you and turning into little snores. 

“Oh, Y/N,” 

Wilhemina’s words interrupted your calm state and you cracked tired eyes open to stare up at her illuminated face. 

“I know that you were acting out but your punishment is still pending, don’t think you got away with that behavior earlier.” 

Your bleary eyes blinked over at her, lips cracking open, and you stared at her in confusion. 

Her fingers slipped into your hair and tugged lightly, bringing you back into wakefulness as her words processed. 

“Okay, Mina, whatever you say.” 

A little smirk cracked on her lips at your soft, teasing words, and instead of arguing you simply laid back into her lap. 

You figured there were worse things after all, that punishment was a problem for another day. 

Tonight you would simply continue to bask in her presence and the calm she had afforded you. 

And that was exactly what you did as the sun set and the night moved on.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr @a-nastywoman


End file.
